by Jacob Chance
Smiling reservedly, her lips compress together. “Thanks, guys.”
I lean toward her. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” She shrugs. I can tell something’s off with her. Her expression is a bit dazed.
“You didn’t hit your head, did you?”
“No. I got the wind knocked out of me, that’s all.” She won’t meet my eyes. “Are we going to play some more or what?” I guess that’s the end of this conversation. I can take a hint.
“Sure. Let’s show these boys what we’re made of.”
We spend the next hour playing until the guys finally edge over us for the win.
Chapter Twenty-One
Zeke
“Pizza’s here,” Trevor announces, arms loaded with boxes.
Amelia laughs, “You had pizza delivered to the beach?”
“Damn straight. Haven’t you had beach takeout before?”
“No. Never. But it sounds awesome. I’m not ready to leave yet.” She waves her hand around, pointing out the vacant beach bathed in the final rays of the sun. I agree completely. Today has been a blast so far. I’m in no rush to leave.
Stepping over Nick’s sleeping form, I relieve Trevor of half of the boxes. “Where do you want these?”
“Set them down on the blanket.” He nods, garnering Amelia’s attention. “There are plates and napkins in the bag I brought if you don’t mind grabbing them.”
Setting the boxes down, I watch Amelia as she bends over, rifling through the backpack. With all the others around, we’ve barely spoken today. I miss her. After last night it’s difficult being this close and not being able to openly enjoy her company.
Amelia sets out a stack of plates and napkins on the large Terriers blanket.
“Come and eat,” Trevor shouts above Nick’s ear. He jolts upright and the guys all laugh.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Not so funny when the joke’s on you, is it?” Trevor pats him on the head like a dog.
“Remember payback’s a bitch, T. And I don’t mind waiting for the right opportunity.” He bounces to his feet. “Now is not the time for getting retribution. Oh no.” He shakes his finger in front of Trevor’s face. “Now’s pizza time.” He pats his flat stomach.
“Grab whatever pizza you want before Nick eats it all,” Harlow directs loudly.
“You eat a couple pieces of someone’s pizza one time and you never hear the end of it.”
“One time?” Harlow raises a brow.
Carter snorts. “Nick, I think you should give up while you’re ahead.”
“Not you, too?” Glancing at Carter, he clutches his chest until she shoves a plate loaded with pizza in front of him. He beams a smile her way. “Thanks, Candy.”
Amelia plates two slices of cheese for herself and turns to me. “What do you want, Coach?”
“I’ll take two pieces of sausage, please.” She rifles through a few boxes before she finds the correct one. Adding two slices to a paper plate she hands it off to me, along with a napkin.
“Thank you. Want to go sit over there?” I tip my head in the direction of a large beach towel I set out earlier.
“Sure.” She nods. We amble slowly around everyone and sink onto the dark towel.
“Are you having fun?” I flick a glance her way.
“I am, thanks. It’s been a great couple of days. I wish we had more than a day left. I’m not looking forward to returning to Boston on Sunday.”
“You don’t like Boston?”
“I love it. But this is like paradise. How am I supposed to want to leave?”
“It’s only Friday. We still have plenty of time for more fun.”
“You’re right. What do you have planned for later?”
“Well, I wanted to invite you back to the guest house, but Nick and Carter are staying there with me. Maybe we can meet in the theater room. We can watch a movie and make out.” My smile is wolf-like.
“I like movies,” she deadpans.
I chuckle, “What else do you like?”
“Midnight swims in the pool.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll be alone long enough to enjoy another. There’s a full house tonight and too many potential eyes on us to risk it.”
“What’s the plan?”
“We can sneak away from the bonfire early and no one will be the wiser. I’ll give you the signal and you can meet me in the theater room.”
“What’s the signal?”
“What do you want it to be? An owl hoot? A whistle? A sexy look?” I give her my best heated stare and she rolls her eyes. “How about this?” Crossing my eyes, I wag my tongue at her.
“Gross,” she giggles. “That’s subtle. I’m sure no one would notice.”
“Right?”
Oranges, yellows, and blues wave like a flag rippling in the wind as the flames of the bonfire blaze in front of us. Crackling and popping, the scent of burning wood is a pleasant one. Drifting on the sea breeze it teases my nose, calling up nostalgic memories of camping trips taken with Jase and my parents. Each summer my father would find a new place to visit. My favorite was the time we camped in the Shenandoah Valley. We saw two black bears and unbelievably beautiful vistas as far as the eye could see.
I’d love to take Amelia camping. Having her to myself for the duration of the trip would be too good to be true. My gaze seeks and finds her across the fire from me. I love how casual she is. Hair tucked under a scarlet Boston Terriers cap, she seems like the type of girl who could rough it without complaining. There are a lot of places I’d love to take Amelia - so many memories I want to make with her. Too bad none of them can become a reality.
Unless I have a talk with Mark. Should I broach the subject with him before it becomes an issue? I’m already crazy about her and I don’t want to pretend I’m not. Maybe there’s a way around the no dating clause. I’m going to call Mark at the beginning of this next week and tell him how I’m feeling.
“Dude.” Nick snakes in beside me. “I got caught up in seeing everyone and all the fun we were having earlier and I forgot to tell you Jase is at your place.”
“What? My brother, Jase?”
“Yep, that’s the one. How many others do you have?”
“You know I don’t have any others.” My tone is annoyed.
“I’m kidding. Jeez, dude. Learn to take a joke.”
“Thanks for the advice. Now, do you think you can tell me how Jase came to be at my place? How did he even get inside?”
“That’s easy. I let him in.”
“How? You gave back your key when you moved out.”
“You didn’t think I only had one copy, did you?”
Inhaling a deep breath, I remind myself to be calm. If Nick realizes he’s getting to me, he’ll push my buttons more. “Did Jase happen to mention how long he’s in town for?”
“Yeah, I was just about to get to that part.” I somehow hold in the frustrated growl. “He said he’s here for a few days. I told him you’d be back Sunday.”
“I’m not going to make him wait two days to see me. I’ll leave in the morning.” If I hadn’t been drinking all afternoon and evening, I’d probably leave sooner. Shit. This is going to fuck up my plans to spend more time with Amelia. Staring in her direction, I watch her laugh at something Owen says. In spite of being angry at Nick seconds ago, I find myself grinning. Her smile is contagious and could bring about world peace.
“Damn, Zeke. You have a problem.”
I turn to Nick. “What problem are you referring to?”
“One of the five foot ten, dark brown hair, thirty-six, twenty-six, thirty-six variety.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Shit. Am I really that obvious?
“Zeke, take a walk with me, buddy. Come talk to me.”
“No, thanks.”
“I’m serious. Let’s go.”
“Don’t make me regret this.”
“Do you ever regret talki
ng to me?”
“You don’t want me to answer that question.” We walk in silence, heading down the beach in the direction Amelia and I swam only this morning. It seems like so much longer ago.
“It’s obvious you like Amelia. What are you going to do about it?”
“I wasn’t going to do anything, but we’ve grown closer on this trip.”
“So you guys screwed and now you don’t want to stop.”
“No, it’s more than sex for me.”
“What about her?”
“She’s not the casual sex type. I’m sure these feelings go both ways.”
“If you like her that much why don’t you talk to your boss?”
“That’s kind of where I’m at now.”
“If she means enough that you’d risk this coaching job, then I say go for it. I’ve never known you to be the guy who lets pussy sway him, so I know this goes deeper.”
“You’re right, it does. I’m crazy about Amelia, but after what Claire did there’s a part of me that thinks I’m losing my mind to consider a relationship again.”
“You can’t be single for the rest of your life. Well you could, but it would be a lonely existence. As someone with a fiancée I love more than I can say, I’ll tell you I’ve never regretted taking a chance on Carter. But if I hadn’t, and she wasn’t in my life now… I can’t imagine how empty my days and nights would be.”
“But that’s because things worked out with you guys.”
“They did.” He nods. “But I had to stop caring about all the factors stacked against us and focus on what I wanted - what we wanted. If I hadn’t given our relationship a chance then I wouldn’t have her in my life and I’d be missing out. That would be a tragedy.” What Nick’s saying makes sense and he knows from experience. He and Carter had obstacles to overcome in order to be together. They didn’t let fear stop them and now they’re both deliriously happy. Could I have the same with Amelia?
When it came time to sneak off with Amelia, none of the signals we discussed were necessary. Somehow, we made eye contact and that was all it took. I grabbed my towel, shook the sand free and walked back toward the house. She followed a few minutes later and we met in the backyard. We agreed we both needed showers and then we’d rendezvous in the theater room in the main house.
After my shower I got dressed in record time and was waiting for her in the hallway when she came out of her room.
“We should sneak into my room and no one would know.”
“What if one of the girls knocks on your door?”
“I don’t see how the movie room is going to be any better. What if someone walks in when we’re kissing?”
“There’s a door we can close and the seat backs are high enough to keep people from seeing us right away.”
“You seem to know a lot about fooling around in there. This isn’t your first time doing this is it?” She crosses her arms and purses her lips. Is she jealous?
“Amelia, I never professed to be a saint before we met. I had a girlfriend for three years of college. We did more than hold hands in that time.”
“Whatever. I don’t care.”
“Sure you do. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be copping an attitude right now.”
“I’m not.”
Catching her hand, I pull her into my arms. “Look, I’m with you now and there’s nowhere else I want to be. Isn’t that enough?”
She nods. “It is.”
I tug on her hand. “Come on. Let’s go see what movies are available.” We stroll through the mansion pointing out different things on our way to the theatre room. “How much do you think that football is worth?” Amelia inquires pointing to a glass case on a shelf.
“I’m not sure, but if I remember correctly that’s the one from the last Super Bowl Mr. Lincoln won.”
“Have you ever seen any of his rings up close?”
“No, I’ve only met him in passing. Brady never had him around much and Trevor doesn’t seem to either.”
When we reach the theater room, I open the door and flip the switch for the small lights lining the perimeter of the aisle like a real movie theater. Amelia gasps in surprise.
“Pretty cool, huh?”
“This is crazy. Who has a movie theater in their vacation house?”
“The Lincoln’s and I’m sure in this neighborhood they’re not the only ones.”
Still holding her hand, I escort her to a row of seats in the middle. “Sit down and get comfortable. Do you trust me to choose a movie?”
“Don’t pick any sappy shit and you’ll do fine.”
“Yes, ma'am.” I wink and brush my lips over hers. “What about kissing?”
“What about it?” She looks confused.
“Am I allowed to kiss you?”
“You better.”
Releasing my hold on her, I step away, shifting over to the side of the room. There’s a computer and when I wiggle the mouse I find it already logged into the Lincoln’s Netflix account which is connected to the smart screen. Selecting one of my favorite movies, I return to Amelia and take the seat next to hers.
“What are we watching?”
“Have you seen Atomic Blonde?”
“No, and I’ve been wanting to.”
“The soundtrack is loaded with great eighties tunes.”
“I kind of wish you’d picked something else.”
“You just finished saying you’ve been wanting to watch this.”
“I know I did, but we’re not really going to watch, are we?”
Barking out a laugh, I wrap my arm around her shoulders. “What do you think?”
Her face raises, chin tipping up, positioning her mouth for mine to capture and there’s no way I can resist the invitation. Connecting our lips, I experience the same sense of urgency I have each time we’ve kissed. Desire rushes through my veins and it feels as though my existence is dependent on this moment. My chest feels weak with an emotion I’m afraid to think about or label when so many things are uncertain.
“Looks like someone beat us to it.” I tear my lips from Amelia’s with a groan when I hear Trevor’s voice. Yanking my arm from behind her shoulders, I place as much distance between us as possible. We’ve got company… just fucking great.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Amelia
“We’re over here.” I raise my hand over the top of the seat.
“Hey, what’s up?” Owen yells as he steps inside. “Is this where the party is?”
“Hell yeah. Wait until you watch this movie in here. The screen is two-hundred-sixty-two inches and cost my father five hundred thousand dollars.”
“What?” Grace snaps. “That’s a disgusting misuse of money.”
“It’s my dad’s money and he earned it. He can spend it how he sees fit,” Trevor replies coolly.
“That monstrosity has to be twenty feet long.” Grace scowls.
Trevor smirks, sitting at the end of our row. “Yep, it is and nine feet high. It also weighs over seventeen hundred pounds.”
“Can we watch the movie, please? I don’t care how big it is,” I sigh, frustrated they’ve all interrupted what was sure to be an enjoyable time with Zeke.
“That’s what she said,” Owen contributes, chuckling as he slips in beside Trevor. Grace and Leah sit in the two seats on the other side of me. As enormous as this room is, we’ve somehow all wound up in a neat row like cigars in a box.
Everyone quiets once the movie begins and now that I’m being forced to watch, I’d rather not. All I wanted were some stolen moments with Zeke. Is that too much to ask?
Pressing my head back against the soft leather of the headrest, I close my eyes and focus on Zeke’s hard thigh pressed to mine. I can feel the hair on his muscular calf where it touches my skin. Keeping my lids lowered I picture what he looked like last night. Naked, pool water dripping down every hard inch of his powerful body, he reminded me of a warrior come to stake his claim. I giggle at the unlikely thought.
�
�What are you laughing about?” Zeke’s lips touch my ear, and my eyes snap open. Rolling my head in his direction places our faces only inches apart.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I sass.
“Hell yeah, I would. Whatever it was had you squirming in your seat.”
“I was not.” My whisper is one of false outrage. Could he tell my mind was assailed with steamy thoughts of his athletic physique?
“You don’t have to tell me. Imagining what it was is almost as good.”
“Shh. Will you two stop talking?” Grace scolds and we fall into silence. I’m hyper aware of every breath he draws in and releases, of each shift of his weight in the seat next to me. His curious glances aimed my way warm my flesh. I’m completely on edge, buzzing with sexual tension. My entire body is vibrating like an alarm that can’t be shut down.
Gritting my teeth and squeezing my thighs together, I slowly breathe through my nose and remind myself to settle down. I’m beginning to have some success until his hand finds its way to my outer thigh. His pinky finger traces web like patterns on my skin and goosebumps break out.
Judging from the smirk twisting his lips he knows he’s affecting me. Two can play this game.
Shaking off my flip flop, I rub my toes along the top of his ankle and up the front of his shin. Hairs pleasantly tickle the underside of my foot. There’s not much more I can do without alerting Grace and Leah to what’s going on, but it doesn’t matter, because I notice Zeke adjusting himself through his shorts.
Pressing my lips together as my toes skim over his calf, I fight the grin that wants to break free. It’s wonderful to know he’s as sensitive to my touch as I am to his.
Teasing Zeke while he torments me helps the remainder of the movie pass by. At least we’re both on edge. Unfortunately, with the way this night has gone, I doubt there will be any opportunity for us to work off this sexual energy, and tomorrow is Saturday, our last full day here. We’re returning home on Sunday and that’s the end of our brief interlude.